A day of honor and a day to honor’ (SLIDESHOW)

Monday

Nov 12, 2012 at 12:01 AMNov 12, 2012 at 5:10 PM

Kathleen Lackey placed a handful of roses into the center monument at Beal Memorial Cemetery on Monday morning. As tears rolled down her cheeks, she kissed her hand and placed it on the Air Force mementos.

ANGEL McCURDY / Daily News

FORT WALTON BEACH — Kathleen Lackey placed a handful of roses into the center monument at Beal Memorial Cemetery on Monday morning. As tears rolled down her cheeks, she kissed her hand and placed it on the Air Force mementos.

“I still miss him,” Lackey said to the escort standing beside her.

Lackey lost her son, Senior Master Sgt. James Lackey, more than two years ago in an Osprey crash. She was one of dozens of service and community members who gathered to pay tribute to the veterans who gave their lives and those who carry on at the Veterans Day memorial.

View a slideshow from the ceremony.

View a slideshow from a Veterans Day parade in Mary Esther.

“As long as I’m able, I’m not going to miss one of these services,” Lackey said. “Anything I can do to pay tribute to my son for giving his life for something he believed in, I’ll be there.”

Maj. Gen. Kenneth Merchant told the audience about Air Force heroes such as Capt. Barry Crawford, who was awarded the Air Force Cross in April for heroic action during a 2010 battle in Afghanistan, and Israel Del Toro, who became the first 100 percent combat-disabled Air Force technician to re-enlist.

“There are countless stories of airmen like Crawford and Del Toro and there surely will be more,” Merchant said. “Today, we honor our Air Force, Army, Marines, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine.

“Those who served are the fabric from which our flag has been woven. … Whether you wear a uniform today or wore one decades ago, you did something outstanding. This is a day of honor and a day to honor.”

Duane St. John, a Marine Corps veteran, can still remember the battlegrounds he fought on, the 40-degree weather they powered through and the men who stood by his side.

“Our motto is, ‘We remember,’ ” St. John said after the service. “You don’t forget. You can’t forget. Today is a way to remember those that haven’t come back and we feel the gratitude for all the guys who served.”